melted away if they stayed around. >> in the mountains saw some snow. the ski areas have the snow guns blaring. today some sleet, freezing rain, wet snow flakes north and west of d.c. wednesday morning another system is going to bring us mainly rain but a threat for a little wintry weather north and west as well on wednesday morning. one of these days we'll get an honest to goodness snow but nothing at the moment. we're looking at temperatures now at 32 in washington. we've got some 20s north and west. 42 by noon. could abcouple of showers coming in there or even wet flakes toward the shenandoah valley. by 5:00 rainy and 40 degrees. again the threat for some wet snow or sleet north and west. there's our moisture in kentucky, tennessee and the carolinas trying to make its way east but it's going to abwhile before it gets here -- to be a while before it gets here w. very some winter weather advisories and freezing rain advisories for the

mountains this morning and into the afternoon hours but nothing close toward the metro. our temperatures are starting down to 23 in manassas. 27 winchester. culpeper 25. 33 for bill in newland, virginia in the northern neck and fredricksburg is at 30. we're only going to be in the low 40s. looks like we're fine this afternoon. a little wet at times -- i mean fine this morning, wet this afternoon and a wintry mix north and west but the roads will be too warm for anything but wet streets. let's check in with liz and looking pretty quiet out there. >> reporter: thank you. very, very quiet. we'll start with your ride on 95 through virginia. it's so much less volume filled than usual. 95 north looks good on the trip up from fredricksburg. no problems near occoquan. here we have the view of 395 right around duke street. you can see there's plenty of space between cars there so nothing to trip you up by getting in and out of alexandria making the ride into downtown. as we switch over to the maryland side of things, 270

could be a busier route as the day goes along. a lot of folks going to travel to and from christmas eve dinner. as you can see all things quiet on the montrose roadside. no problems in towards the beltway. that is your latest check of timesaver traffic. back to andrea. the newtown school shootings has led to a renewed discussion on gun control across our nation. politicians took to the airwaves debating gun control on the sunday political talk shows. jessica doyle is live in the 9news satellite center with more. good morning, jess. welcome back. >> reporter: thanks so much. it's great to be back. of course we want to say a very merry christmas eve to everyone. in the meantime, we're dealing with a very tough issue, the issue of gun control. we are seeing the drumbeat getting louder for gun control in the united states. we saw that on the sunday morning talk shows yesterday as well as in many other places in the wake of the new town shootings. but advocates for tough gun control laws are running head

first into advocates for gun control, gun rights advocates as well as the national rifle association. in the meantime, though, that is not stopping lawmakers like senator dianne feinstein of california from possibly proposing new legislation, maybe as soon as next month that would tighten the gun control laws in america, possibly limiting which weapons can be sold and how many bullets can be housed within a magazine. she certainly has plenty of support from fellow democrats. >> trying to prevent shootings in schools without talking about guns is like trying to prevent lung cancer without talking about cigarettes. >> reporter: also on the sunday talk shows, we saw the c.e.o. of the nra coming out dismissing calls for an assault weapons ban or limiting ammunitions. instead he is pushing for more police officers in schools. >> if it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our school to

protect our children, then call me crazy. i'll tell you that the american people think it's crazy not to do it. >> reporter: in the meantime we're seeing plenty of signs that the american public is as divided on this issue of gun control as we see within the political parties. cbs news poll taken right after newtown show that 57% of americans now support tougher gun control laws in the united states. it's the highest level of support we've seen in a decade. in the meantime, though, guns are flying off the shelves. so is ammunition. a company which claims to be the biggest seller of ammunition in the world says that it sold three and a half years worth of ar-15 ammunition in just three days. that is mind boggling. in the meantime coming up in the next half-hour, we're going to take a look at the protests in favor of gun control laws happening right here in our own backyard. back to you. >> jessica, thank you. with time running out to

avoid the fiscal cliff, democrats and republicans have left the capitol for their respective homes. for the majority of the country, that means we are essentially going over the cliff. president obama is in hawaii for christmas with his family b. before he left, he urged congress to adopt a stopgap measure to prevent taxes from rising on people who make less than $250,000 a year. he also asked for a plan to keep providing benefits to unemployed workers. house speaker john boehner is home in cincinnati. he failed to get members of his own party to support his plan b proposal to end the crisis. he said the stalemate and failure of plan b rests with the democrats. >> what the president has offered so far simply won't do anything to solve our spending problems and begin to address our nation's crippling debt. instead he wants more spending and more tax hikes that will hurt our economy. and he refuses to challenge the members of his matter to deal honestly with the entitlement reform and the big issues that are facing our nation.

that's why we find ourselves here today. >> president obama is scheduled to return to washington on wednesday. there's no word if any new talks are planned. 9news is tracking the discussions on capitol hill concerning the fiscal cliff. we have broken our newsroom into four groups. one to monitor the potential impact on the local economy, a second to prepare you for what could happen to you and your family, a third will help you take action and the fourth will hold lawmakers accountable. you can get alerts sent straight to your phone about all our fiscal cliff notes by texting the cliff to 525 eowe to 25 -- the cliff to 25543. time for your money segment of the morning. it is the final trading week of the year for the stock market. the fiscal cliff is scaring investors. stocks sank friday as the economy inches closer to going over the edge. the dow was down 120 points.

the nasdaq down 29. the s&p slipped 13 and a half points. the stock market is on track, though, for its fourth straight year of gains. the dow is up overall nearly 8%. the nasdaq has rallied more than 15% so far this year. the stock market is closed tomorrow for the christmas break. there will still be plenty of economic reports to sift through this week, including the latest on home prices and sales, consumer confidence and jobless claims. it's not only investors but washington's failure to agree on a budget is affecting everyday americans' confidence about their finances. the university of michigan says its consumer sentiment index for december fell sharply from november's five-year high. more than one in four people surveyed cited concerns about higher taxes. these are definitely the times we need comfort food the most. thank goodness twinkies, wonder bread and devil dogs could soon return to store shelves but another company will be making them.

bankrupt hostess brands says it's narrowing down the bids it received for its brands. it expects to sell off its snacks and breads to separate buyers. about 30 former hostess plants could also be sold along with the brands. the nation's bid -- the nation bids farewell to one of its longest serving senators and the former president may not be doing as well as we were told. 9news returns in two minutes.

5:09. a cold start to your christmas

eve and all quiet through christmas day. it will be the afternoon and evening where we have some rain and even a little bit of wintry mix north of town. any accumulation that occurs will ob grassy sur -- will be on grassy surfaces. not a big deal here. expect cloudy skies of the 38 by noon. by -- by 9:00. by noon could be a shower north and west. this afternoon rain for a little bit of wet snow or sleet. i'll be back in a few minutes with the seven-day forecast talking about another windy storm by wednesday. right now here's liz in for monika with timesaver traffic. thank you. a very quiet commute. sounds like the forecast really today so far. just not a whole lot of volume out there as we take a look on your 395 ride. traffic flows freely. it's smooth sailing n. sin dicktive of -- sailing. this is indicative of everything else you'll see. we'll have more in a bit but right now we'll toss things over to andrea. making news now at 5:10, here's former president george

herbert walker bush may not be home in time for christmas. doctors at houston hospital say while he remains in stable condition, the 41st needs to -- 41st president needs to build up its energy before he can be released. he was hospitalized november 23 for a bronchitis-related cough. more than 1,000 people attended a memorial service for the late hawaii senator daniel inouye. the army veteran and war hero died of respiratory complications last monday. president obama, hawaii's governor and military leaders were among the mourners. senator inouye was 88 years old. he was the second longest serving senator in u.s. history. a loudoun county police dog who ch was missing since last friday has been found. bronco the german shepherd ran away while on a visit to the groomer. the sheriff's deputy put out an alert and several people called to say they spotted him. he was found on ivan dale road in the county and is said to be okay but he still might need a

visit to the groomers. coming up, no shortage of hotel rooms available for next month's inauguration but it may not be that way for long. we'll explain when 9news now returns in two minutes.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now.

happy christmas eve to all. howard is here to tell us the forecast. >> it will be a nice quiet morning. if you need to run out to the store and battle the shoppers, no real issues here in the morning. it's the afternoon where we could have a few problems. one, it will be wet here in the metro. north and west of town, cold enough for snow or sleet to mix in but not cold enough for it to really stick to everything except in the mountains where we do have a few advisories. that's where i want to start well west of town. if your travels take you out toward western maryland or west virginia, you may run into some problems there where we have some advisories in effect in the form of winter weather and freezing rain advisories. the pink is the freezing rain advisory. that goes till 6:00. the purple, the winter weather advisories till about noon. we'll be cold enough for any of the sleet or freezing rain to mix in to cause a few slick spots. other than that, a fairly quiet event here as temperatures will start in the 20s and 30s now. 42 by lunch time. even by then i don't expect too much in the way of shower

activity but as the afternoon wears on, it is going to turn wet. there will be some wet sleet mixing in. i think here in d.c. we're not going to see anything but rain with winds at 5 to 10 miles an hour. even by 8:00 still rain or mix north and west. by then most of it should be winding down. we're watching the moisture into kentucky, down in tennessee, north carolina, southwestern virginia. but you'll notice it is just moving off toward the east barely not even to roanoke yet. that means it's going to be a while before it gets up here. i'm thinking if you have plans this morning, no real problems. temperatures are cold. you need the heavier jackets with 25 in reston. haymarket is 28. to the north we have 33 in laytonsville. laurel is 30. 27 in bowie. prince frederick, kind of frosty down there in calvert county. so you'll see that as well and many areas like alexandria and fort belvoir also in the 20s. you park outside, leaving early, you may have to scrape the windshields.

on our michael & son weather camera, good visibility. 32 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. the north wind at 6:00 making it feel like 26 this morning. active across the country. another storm system coming if from the west. look at all the rain and mountain snows extending toward the enter mountain west. jet stream across mexico and texas, this will activate a storm system tomorrow. could be quite a severe weather outbreak from east texas through louisiana. maybe lower areas of alabama as well. then this system is going to be coming across us this afternoon and this evening. you'll notice a little bit of blue here in the mountains. that is indicative of snow. i think it's overdoing it just a little bit. by this evening, 5:00, most of this will be north of the mason- dixon line. then we're going to watch the next storm system really start to take ship as we head into tuesday night and wednesday throwing the rain and maybe some early snow our way. but this is going to be a rain event for the most part for us here in washington. 43 rain this afternoon. some mix north and west. tonight back in the low to mid- 30s with areas of fog.

rain will end by midnight. tomorrow 48. so a decent tuesday with rain and wind on wednesday. perhaps an early mix west of town. thursday looks windy and saturday night may be the rain ending as a little bit of snow. 5:18ing timesaver traffic -- 5:18, timesaver traffic. a chilly commute to be sure but not a whole lot more to talk about on this christmas eve morning. volume nice and light. you're without company as you make your way along the main lines. normally cars are pretty well packed in on the outer loop at new hampshire avenue but traffic flows freely with plenty of space between the cars a. great ride from college park towards bethesda. also it's going to be an easy enough ride as you make your way coming up from virginia. take a look at 395 through alexandria right around duke street. you're going to find it's a lot lighter than what we're used to seeing. if you're like me, have some later ands to run, you -- late errands to run, you should be able to without a whole lot of cars packing you in.

so far so good in the early going. that is the latest check on timesaver traffic. andrea, back to you. >> thank you, liz. the expense would definitely not make our daily deals list but if you need a hotel room for inauguration weekend, you may be in luck but not for long. debra alfarone takes a look at the high and the low of it. >> reporter: now that i have your attention, this hotel room and many others are apparently still available for inauguration weekend. people who run hotels are wondering where these people are. >> we have the best views in washington. >> reporter: not bad. back up to the big baller suite while w hotel general manager edward bayton else us why he thinks rooms are slow to book. >> the reservation cycle is moving a little bit slower than we would have anticipated, even for a second inauguration. there's a lot of speculation as to why there seems to be some conversation that the pending fiscal cliff may have something

to do with it. >> reporter: and this pad goes for $10,000 a night, four-night minimum. if you need the pitch? >> tv,s parade procession on 15th avenue as it passes by the hotel. we happen to be one of the closest hotels to the white house. >> reporter: if $40,000 is a little too rich for your blood, boy have we found a deal for you. >> the response has been amazing actually. >> reporter: joshua put an ad on craigslist, rooms just like this for $-9d 9 in this charming three-story house near rock creek park. you have so like living with other people. he lives here with seven others, mostly interns. >> i am sold out 50% of it and i have left the other 50% for the late comers because then they'll have no choice so i could put my price a little bit higher. >> reporter: in northwest d.c., debra alfarone, 9news. it's 5:20. we want to take another look at our question of the morning. every week 25% of us burn your

selves with this. is it a, a curling or flatiron, b, a slice of pizza or c, the stove? this is the response pat wrote on our facebook fan page. she says it's b, because it is so tempting to bite into that steaming hot melting cheese. sounds good. log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page. leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during the 6:00 hour.

a good christmas evening. howard with you at 5:24. we do have mostly cloudy skies. there are breaks where we searing the moon and stars -- seeing the moon and the stars. it's a cold morning. by 9:00 we may actually be seeing some sun coming through with temperatures in the 30s to even 40 in baltimore. let's take you out toward noon. here comes the moisture. in the shenandoah valley it could be cold enough for wet snow and sleet to mix in with the rain. we're still waiting by noon, 42. then we'll see rain this afternoon. the snow, is it going to get this close? i think this is being a little overdone but if you have wet flakes or sleet mix in but nothing should stick to the roadways. by 6:00 we start to see the moisture trying to pull out of the region. looks like a wet afternoon but a dry morning. back to you.

>> thanks, howard. the washington redskins are now just one win away from winning the nfc division title for the first time since 1999. dave owens has a look back at the team's win in philadelphia. good monday, everybody. we knew this one was going to abtough game. any time you play an nfc east opponent, you have tbuckle it up a little tighter. redskins fans, you could not ask for more drama than this. rg3's return and playoff implications. that was on the docket yesterday. there's the famous brace of rg3. defense shelled early. get who jeremy maclin got behind? 7-0. eagles up. redskins respond. josh morgan wiggles his way into the love shack. washington took a 13-10 lead into the half. second half, this is perfect. griffin drops it in to santana.

27-10 redskins. eagles fight back. chance to tie in the final seconds. the ball didn't make it back to the line of scrimmage. that's grounding. that's a penalty. 10-second runoff. ballgame. redskins win 27-20. >> right now our football team expects to win. that's where you feel very good about the character of your guys. >> this is what we worked for. we knew if we took care of business coming out of our bye week, we worked hard to put ourselves in this position. >> we're playing the best ball we have all year at the right time. we're rolling. we all know that. it's been a change in our mindset since after the bye week week. a quick scheduling note. the redskins-cowboys season finale officially the sunday night game of the week. kickoff next sunday set for 8:20 p.m. that's a quick look at sports. have a great monday. have a great christmas eve,

everybody.

good morning. welcome back to nine fine now. it is 5 -- to 9news now. it is 5:30. a lot of people are watching us if bed because they don't have to get up for work or school. we envy them just a little bit. >> traffic is great this morning. >> traffic is great. nobody experiences traffic like we do in the morning. >> if you like wide open lanes on the freeway, now is the time. >> and now is the time because eight not raining right now-- >> it's not raining right now. >> no, but it will be raining this afternoon. some areas north and west of town you may see a little bit of sleet mixing in. surface temperatures should be well above freezing so other than wet roads which is enough of a problem, it generally shouldn't be worse than that except in the mountains. here's a look at your day planner on this monday morning, christmas eve, 2012. we've 32 degrees here in washington with mid-20s in the outer suburbs. 42 by noon.

cloudy skies then with some showers coming in from the south and west. then a wetter afternoon. a little bit of sleet or snow might even mix in north and west of town with a 5:00 p.m. temperature of 40. this morning we've got some high clouds, although plenty of breaks just to the west. we'll still be a hostly cloudy sky this morning and it will be the afternoon when the rain moves in. we do have winter weather advisories well to the west till noon. then the other side of the divide, freezing rain advisories till 6:00 p.m. temperatures this morning down to 25 in culpeper. it's 30 for luray. upper 30s along the bay and annapolis. monika is off but liz drabeck is in. enjoying the christmas eve holiday pace. seeing evidence of that in all the main lines. you have all the available space. here is a look at 395 north of duke street. normally cars are packed in along this corridor. things especially busy

typically through alexandria and arlington. that is not the case this morning. if you're making the trip along 395 or 95 coming up from virginia, you're doing so at ease. heading to the midmerchandise side of things, -- maryland side of things, you're moving at speed or above it as you make your way off 95 and the trip through college park. no problems out to bethesda. as far as maryland main lines look, looks good. to laurel smooth sailing. whether you're making your way in or out all the way between the ramps of 495 and frederick. there's just not a whole lot to talk about. there is your timesaver traffic report. back to andrea. good morning. >> good morning, liz. thank you. the sandy hook elementary school shootings have pushed the debate over gun control to the forefront of the nation's consciousness. as the debate over gun control continues to heat up across the country, it seems more and more americans appear to be stockpiling weapons and ammunition. jessica doyle is live in the 9news satellite center. she has more on this story. good morning, jess. >> reporter: good morning to you, andrea, and good morning

to you at home. everywhere you look nowadays it seems gun sales, ammunition sales, gun show attendance, you're seeing americans standing proudly and firmly next to their second amendment right to bear arms. this is the second time we have seen a renewed debate over gun control laws here in america taking fire of course in the wake of the newtown shootings. this fear that gun control laws are getting tighter, that has made gun sales one of the hottest area of sales this christmas season. >> definitely trying to stock up and buy things i'm potentially not going to be able to get in the future. two weeks ago you could buy one gun for $200, now it's 25, 27. >> reporter: protests have been breaking out in favor of tougher gun control laws. for example, yesterday we saw protesters gathering across the brooklyn bridge in new york. and here a small group of protesters rallied in front of a falls church gun store. the bishop of the catholic

diocese of one spirit led the group. >> to allow these kind of guns that have no other purpose mu to murder and slaughter innocent people -- but to murder and slaughter innocent people and children is insane. >> reporter: as for congress new legislation to renew the assault weapons ban that expired back in 2004, that new legislation is expected to be introduced as soon as january. coming up in the next half- hour, we'll take a look at both sides of the argument that we're hearing in congress and elsewhere across the country. back to you. >> jessica, thank you. montgomery county is the latest jurisdiction vying to become the new home of the f.b.i. the general services administration is searching for a new location for the headquarters. the j. edgar hoover building on pennsylvania avenue is deteriorating and no longer suits the agency's needs. the gsa has proposed swapping the building for a new site in the washington metropolitan area, building along with several -- prince george's county along with several communities in northern virginia are also in the running. at 5:35, time for the next

your money segment. here are today's headlines. some storm sandy hurt profits at walgreen's. the drugstore chain was forced to close hundreds of stores in the northeast in october costing the company $24 million. walgreen's also filled fewer prescriptions last quarter resulting in a 26% drop in profits. instagram has had a change of art. the popular photo sharing site has done away with wording in its new terms service agreement which sparked outcry from users. they were concerned it meant their photos could appear in advertisements without payment or consent. now instagram says it has no such plans. the hobbit: an unexpected journey scores box office gold again. the film topped the competition for a second weekend. the lord of the rings prequel property in $36.7 million in ticket sales. tom cruise' film came in second with $15.5 million.

"this is 40" took third with $12 million in ticket sales. coming up on 9news now, we'll bring you the story of one local man who has never missed the lighting of the national christmas tree in five decades. we'll be back in two minutes.

a good monday morning. 5:38. glad you're up with us. going out this morning, no problems. i know it's a little on the

cold side but weather wise, it's nice and quiet. we'll have some issues thank and some rain will be -- issues this afternoon and rain will be developing. we're looking for the threat of sleet and snow mixing in north and west of town. temperatures 42 at noon. upper 30s to lower 40s with the precip this afternoon. then we're clearing out a little bit tonight. i'll be back in about five minutes with the full seven-day forecast. another system here by wednesday. right now over to liz with your latest look at timesaver traffic. thanks so much. the latest of the commute all quiet. not a whole lot going out there which is fine if you're making your way out to the roadways because you have all that lane space available to you. the camera angle at 270, that's the busiest it's been all morning. maybe some folks have last- minute christmas eve errands to run. i know i do. we'll have more forthcoming. let's go back to the desk and andrea. we have some daily deals for you. here are some of our favorites. living social is offering discount tickets to the shakespeare theater company.

$39 for one ticket or you can pay $50 for one ticket to coriolanus and wallenstein. it's scheduled for march 30 at 6:00 p.m. wallenstein is scheduled for april 2. this is 59% of normal ticket prices. if you're still looking for the wild gift under the tree tomorrow, sears.com is selling a fiat 500 rechargeable ride-on car. you can get it today for just $124.99. that's $65 off the regular price. of course you'll have to pick it up at your local store to make sure it is there tomorrow under the tree. if you have an offer you've seen or you're a local merchant with a deal for our viewers, we'd love to hear from you on facebook. right now let's see who's celebrating a birthday this christmas eve. one of my favorites who visited 9news, mystery writer mary higgins clark is 85. designer kate spade is 50.

ricky martin is 41. he wrote the twilight book, stephanie meyer is 39. ryan seacrest is 38 and one direction band member, yes, the young girls are screaming, lewis tomlinson is 21. we want to wish a special birthday to 9news writer david beardsley. happy birthday if it's your birthday, too.

welcome back. howard here with your weather first. a cold, quiet morning. we're seeing some stars there. i think that will be the case for a few more hours. clouds won't be thickening up till later this afternoon. any precip that moves in has a threat of being in the form of freezing rain. that's why this winter weather advisory. west of the divide a freezing rain advisory covers much of west virginia now into garrett county.

that goes till about 6:00 p.m. this evening. elsewhere actually looks like a pretty decent start to the day. by lunch time, cloudy. there may be a shower starting to move in southern and western suburbs will see it first. 42 by noon. that will probably be close to the high because by 5:00, a better chance we're going to see rain, 40. northwest and north of town, maybe i-70, i-81 corridors, you could see a little bit of a wintry mix, snow and sleet. if anything sticks, it will be mainly grassy surfaces. rain this morning through kentucky, tennessee, southwestern virginia just getting into the roanoke area now. it will take a while before this stuff lifts toward us. if you have plans this morning through midday, i think for the most part, quiet, just increasing clouds and cold, too. 25 in culpeper. 27 winchester. gaithersburg and baltimore. even southern maryland we've got upper 20s to around 30. here in d.c. on our michael & son weather camera, a nice quiet looking morning. # 32 degrees with a light

windchill. it does make it feel more like 26. nationally a very active weather pattern. we have a system in the south that will give us our rain later o. the west coast dealing with rain, mountain snows. that moisture has been moving inland. this will turn into quite a storm. tomorrow oklahoma is going to have maybe their first white christmas in 80 some odd years. the jet stream coming across mexico and texas may bring severe weather towards east texas to areas along the gulf coast. for us we watch the moisture this morning coming toward southern indiana. we'll see some thinness in the overcast. enough cold air trapped apartment the surface that we could see -- trapped at the surface that we could see snow and mix in here through the afternoon and evening hours. north and west of town. even though we may get some of that wintry mix in montgomery and how wrpd and loudoun -- howard and loudoun counties, anything that sticks and it would be grassy surfaces, i

think it will be closer to i- 81, those areas. by 8:00 most of the moisture is away. out of here and pulling away from us leaving us in pretty good shape for christmas day travel or just festivities. 43 today. watch out for the afternoon rain, mix. tonight we're dipping into the 30s. could be some patchy fog, too. tomorrow a mix of sun and clouds, 48. a nice christmas day. by wednesday rain and wind return, 46. perhaps a little snow at the onset out to our west. by thursday 45, partly sunny, windy behind the system. another storm with rain maybe ending as a little snow late saturday into sunday morning. let's check in with liz now. it's been a very quiet time on the roads here. it stays just that quiet. not seeing any more volume on the roadway than we have this morning. here's a shot of what i think it looks like as you go across the wilson bridge. normally you're dealing with a lot more volume. as you can tell just a complete and utter lack of christmas eve

company. out of maryland and virginia, the wilson bridge and west of there, no problems on 95 mixing bowl. as for the maryland commuter, we'll switchgears and take a look at how things are doing on 270. not just as empty. we have a little more volume there but seems to come and go in spurts. if you haver ands to run, -- if you have errands to run, this is a perfect time to do that because everything is running all clear. smooth sailing. no problems capital beltway. at 5:48, here's a look at some other stories making news now. new research shows excessive protein in the brain may be linked to oughtistic like behavior including impaired communication and diminished social interaction. doctors at the university california san francisco believe the finding could eventually lead to drug therapy which treats autism spectrum disorders better known as asd. kids with food allergies have another challenge during lunch time.

a new study shows almost a third of children with allergies are bullied at school. many parents don't realize their kids are being teased. health experts recommend asking children with allergies if other classmates are bothering them at school. a springfield, virginia man has never missed seeing the national christmas tree. for 50 years he's been documenting the trip with a camera. surae chinn reports 90-year-old alden nielson began his trips back in 1963 when he drove his family from denver to the nation's capital. >> i went down to see it for the first time. >> reporter: he loaded the car with his four children. >> i didn't have a tripod in those days. >> reporter: so he set the camera on his car to get a steady shot. >> it became interesting to me. so i went back the next year. then i was addicted. >> reporter: for the next 49

years, it would be an obsession. >> i wanted to see the different decorations and see all this technology. >> reporter: all those changes [ inaudible ] >> reporter: would bring complications in his new found hobby. >> as technology increased, they started putting lights that twinkle. that fouled up the still picture. let's go back to nixon's years. >> reporter: mr. nielson doesn't have a favorite tree but he says this year's is the most symmetric he's ever taken a picture of in the last 50 years. although there's not a favorite, he says it's the stories behind the trees. >> in honor of them, he ordered the tree lights not to be turned on except the top. >> reporter: american hostages were in iran from 1979 to '80.

president carter would keep the tree dark for two years till they were freed. >> another unique year, president reagan ordered the lights turned on for one each day they were held hostage. >> reporter: the national christmas tree lighting tradition started in 1923 when president calvin coolidge was in office and when nielson was only a year old. >> they didn't have good cameras in those days. >> reporter: he's about to turn 91 next month. he's been attracted to the tree ever since that first trip from denver to the ellipse. he's been taking pictures of the national tree long before the national park service thought about doing it. >> that's the only series like that in existence. >> reporter: any idea you would get the response that you did? >> not at all. i was just taking pictures. >> reporter: in springfield, virginia, surae chinn, 9news.

>> it's quite a joury. coming up on 5:52, we want to take another look at our question of the morning. every week 25% of us burn ourselves with this. is it a, our curming or flat ie -- curling or flatiron, b, a slice of pizza or c, the stove? >> dave wrote 25% of us need to pay more attention to what they're doing. no an. maybe he thinks all of the above. log on it the wusa9 facebook fan page. we'll reveal the answer in about an hour.

a good monday morning. nice and quiet. if you have any planses this morning traveling anywhere, you should be all right at least through midday. it's going to be the afternoon where conditions go downhill. here in d.c. it will be mainly wet. we've got some rain moving in. but north and west of town, some sleet and orr even wet snow -- or even wet snow at times. if anybody sees some buildup, it could be the northern shenandoah valley, potentially areas in frederick county and caroll county as you get north closer to the mason-dixon line. looking at our futurecast by 9:00, still quiet. i think it will be mostly cloudy here with a lot of high clouds. still some thin overcast giving us some sunshine. temperatures in the mid- to upper 30s although winchester and cumberland at 32. we'll head toward lunch time. out in the shenandoah valley

toward harrisonburg, stanton, luray, could be some wet snow or sleet mixing in but the surface temperatures 35, 39. not cold enough to support any problems on the roadways. but cold enough potentially to support a little rain or wet roads i should say. then a rain-snow mix for the afternoon with highs in the upper 30s and low 40s. a couple of big new films getting early oscar buzz open on christmas day. "les miserables" comes to the big screen. it stars anne hathaway, russell crowe. based on a classic novel, it's a trip back in time to paris in the years after the french revolution. fresh off his oscar win action director tom cooper has the actors do their own singing in live takes and not dubbed over later. now entertainment insider jennice fuenes join us with our

review. thank you for joining us. >> happy holidays. >> happy holidays. >> i feel like the timing couldn't be worse for this movie, could it? >> a lot of sad things have happened it month, especially december 14, the horrible massacre, but this movie was slated to open this time of year. a lot of violence. this is clearly an imagined western fairy tale about slave revenge with a star studded cost. >> but the l.a. premiere was already canceled because of newtown. >> it's a very violence movie -- violent movie. this is a western that pushes the envelope which is what tarantino is known to do. christopher waltz plays dr. king schultz. it's interesting. the development of this role

because while -- [ inaudible ] the character of dr. schultz he created for the man who won the academy -- [ inaudible ] >> another violent film. >> we know that about tarantino. there's no surprise here. you saw -- this is a very violent movie. the "n" word is in every other sentence. >> if he was having so many problems, even getting the film together in time, it's christmas time. why not wait for jannieway despite what's happened in newtown. it's christmas time. shouldn't we be thinking happy films right now? >> quinton tarantino is always quinton tarantino 365 days a year. christmas will not change this man. i saw the movie. i think it's not a movie for everyone but this is an excellent movie. it is an excellent fairy tale revenge take on the spaghetti westerns of old. >> there's a moral to the

story? >> there's moral to the story and there is a satisfaction that you will get at the end of the movie, but it -- it's a very long movie. it's so long that it's almost three hours long and-- >> violent and long. >> they thought about breaking it in two so that it could be one and two a lot like "kill bill" which is also his movie. it has a cool sound track, a very interesting story line, a good dialogue, great characters, star studded. it will go a lot faster than you think. it's not for everyone. >> i don't know if i'll take my kids. >> no, don't take your kids. this is an r-rated movie. >> i'll take them to "les miserables." the singing part is something i would opt for, for christmas. >> that's more in the christmas spirit. >> help holidays. thank you for being with us. back to you. >> happy holidays to all of you. thank you for watching 9news at 6:00 a.m. on this christmas eve. i'm andrea roane.